Destination Unknown

I’m still into Jazz, so for those who love me for my
semi-comprehensive knowledge for that particular genre of music: fret not, for
there is no love lost.

But lately, I’ve been into another genre of music too, and
that’s R&B. My brother loves the hiphop scenery, and frequently updates his
R&B collection. He doesn’t, however, buy just about anything - he’s picky.
He wouldn’t settle for the R. Kelly kind of junk; he’d only settle for the more
acquired, and sometimes relatively obscure, artists. And most of the R&B
album from his collection shares one thing in common: they’re all neo-soul.

And I’m really enjoying the neo-soul stuff! Neo-soul is the
genre that sounds like a modernized version of Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye,
with a smattering of Prince. It has the intensity of soul music, plus the
groovy beat arrangements found on most contemporary R&B’s, making them the perfect kind
of ambience for boys/girls-night-outs (whether just for chilling, or for slow-dancing). But a good neo-soul album, like all
other music, isn’t only about setting good background music. Just like all
other genres, the good stuff does warrant a serious and attentive listen. Examples?
Try Macy Gray’s "Why Didn’t You Call Me".

The forefronts of this genre were D’Angelo and Erykah
Badu, both of which have albums that have received recognitions from various
critical-outlets. Aside from the aforementioned two, I also love the albums
from other neo-soul artists such as Maxwell, Joss Stone, Angie Stone, India
Arie, Macy Gray, John Legend, Jill Scott, Corinne Bailey Rae, Lauryn Hill, and
Anthony Hamilton.

So, does anyone have any further recommendations? What are
the R&B albums that I just have to own?

My comment box is open.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 1st, 2007 at 10:03 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.